When Andrew and I bought our house the thing I was secretly most excited about was hanging artwork on the walls. So long, shared college dorm room! Adios, apartment living! This was going to be the place we could make ours. I had plans to decorate the walls with all sorts of goodies.

Little did I know we'd spend the first six months of home ownership just trying to get the wallpaper down! Haha! Getting artwork on our walls has been a work in progress, like most of this house. :) 

I feel like we've finally crossed the finish line with the wallpaper removal, painting, spackling, etc. Now on to the fun part...artwork! I'm a big believer that it takes time to make a house a home. I'm not looking to throw just any old artwork on our walls. I want it to have significance for both Andrew and I, and reflect the life we're building together {I don't have high expectations for it at alllll ;)}.

Several months ago Andrew and I popped into a print store in Charlottesville, Virginia. We stumbled across some maps from the 1873 edition of Gray's Atlas. There were dozens of prints from the atlas, but the two we fell in love with are featured below. One depicts a map of present day Oklahoma (labeled 'Indian Territory'!) and the other is a map of the Dakotas. My Dad was born and raised in Oklahoma, and Andrew's Dad hails from North Dakota. These maps reminded us of our dads...two incredible men who have had such an impact on both of our lives. I don't think Andrew and I would be the man and woman we are today had it not been for the fathers we had. We put the maps up in our living room, and every time I glance at them I think of the legacy of love that has been passed down to us. I hope it's a legacy we can pass on to many generations!

{We framed the prints with a rustic barn wood material. Seemed fitting as both of our dads grew up in farming communities! I like the masculine feel it brings to an otherwise pretty fancy feeling room.}

Living Room Before & {Almost} After.

Hello! Hasn't this summer flown by?!?! I can hardly believe September is right around the corner...! I feel like I'm still trying to catch my breath from what has felt like a whirlwind summer of family visits, vacations, celebrations, and home projects!

Ah, yes, somewhere in between all the summer activity Andrew and I have been trying to spruce up our living room. :) You may remember around this time last year, I was writing about painting these built in bookshelves (which I still just adore! They're one of my favorite parts of the whole room).

We finished up that painting and didn't really touch the rest of the room. We were gearing up to host our small group for the year, and the room worked fine. We decided we would get to more painting, decorating, etc. later on. (We did move that dresser though!)

Well, "later on" arrived this past spring! It was time to get a handle on this room. Andrew has given me free reign with every paint color in our house. I so appreciate his vote of confidence in my judgement. :) While thumbing through a Southern Living Magazine I came across a feature on the Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston, South Carolina. Sherwin-Williams worked with the Historic Charleston Foundation to develop a gorgeous paint color called Verditer Blue. It's a rich creamy turquoise color combining shades of blue and green. I was SOLD. 

We put a sample on the wall, cleared out the room, and got to work!

About this stage of the game I realized just how much color was on our walls. I started to have a bit of uncertainty...but your kind comments on Instagram, and my family's genuine words of encouragement led me to believe it might not be all that bad! :)

Here's our (almost) finished living room below! We've got a few more items to get on the walls and mantel. Window replacements are coming. And blinds. Drapes. Throw pillows (my friend, Julie, compiled arguably the best throw pillow suggestion post for this room!!!). It's a work in progress! But, it's real life! :) A new room made with plenty of helping hands, a few gallons of paint, and a little bit of hard work...totally doable!